Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (16/500)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

—a poet who earns his living thereby—; at that his face paled, he grew conciliatory in his excuses, and he reiterated oath after oath that he had never ignored me, nor had he intended in the least to slight me (1). He then spoke at considerable length on the matter and debated him on points of poetry.
He died in Rabiʿ al-Awwal, 388 AH. Ḥātim was one of his forebears.

370 – King Subuktigin *
Ruler of Balkh, Ghazna, and other regions.
He died in Shaʿbān, 387 AH.
His rule lasted about twenty years. He was just, courageous, and noble, though also harsh, and he adhered to the Karrāmī persuasion (2). When he took Ṭūs he demolished the shrine of al-Riḍā and killed those who came to visit it. When his son Maḥmūd succeeded him, Maḥmūd saw ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) in a dream saying, “How long will this go on?” So he rebuilt the shrine and restored its endowments. Subuktigin had bequeathed the kingdom to his son Ismāʿīl, passing over the elder Maḥmūd. The brothers went to war; Ismāʿīl was defeated and barricaded himself in the fortress of Ghazna. Months later he came down under a guarantee of safety, Maḥmūd granted him amnesty, and Maḥmūd’s authority was secured.

(1) Adapted from al-Risala al-Mawdhiha, pp. 10–11. (*) Main sources: Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Muntazam, 7/76–79; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, 8/479, 487, 509, 511, 629–637; Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-Ayan, 5/175 (within the entry on his son Mahmud b. Sabuktakin); al-Mukhtasar fi Akhbar al-Bashar, 2/113, 117, 133; al-Ibar, 2/33; al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam, series 4, fol. 64b; Duwal al-Islam, 1/225; Ayyun al-Tawarikh, series 11, fol. 235; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 11/282; al-Nujum al-Zahira, 4/108; Shadharat al-Dhahab, 3/48. (2) The Karramiyya were the followers of Abu Abd Allah Muhammad b. Karram, originally from Sijistan. After residing in Makka for five years he settled in Nishapur, where he launched a new school that soon attracted innumerable adherents in Nishapur, Herat and the surrounding regions. The doctrine is chiefly known for its anthropomorphic conception of the divine. See al-Milal wa al-Nihal, 1/108, and al-Farq bayn al-Firaq, p. 131.

مُكتسِباً، فَامْتَقَعَ لونُهُ، وَلاَنَ فِي الاِعْتِذَارِ، وَكرَّرَ الأَيْمَانَ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَثبتَنِي، وَلاَ اعْتَمَدَ التَّقْصِيرَ بِي (١) ، وَذكَرَ فَصْلاً طَوِيْلاً فِي المعنَى. وَنَاظَرَهُ فِي الشِّعرِ. مَاتَ: فِي رَبِيْعٍ الأَوَّلِ سَنَةَ ثَمَانٍ وَثَمَانِيْنَ وَثَلاَثِ مائَةٍ. وحَاتِمٌ كَانَ بَعْضَ جُدُودِهِ. ٣٧٠ - المَلِكُ سُبكتِكينَ * صَاحِبُ بَلْخٍ وَغَزْنَةَ وَغَيْرُ ذَلِكَ. مَاتَ: فِي شَعْبَانَ سَنَةَ سَبْعٍ وَثَمَانِيْنَ وَثَلاَثِ مائَةٍ. كَانَتْ دَوْلَتُهُ نَحْواً مِنْ عِشْرِيْنَ سَنَةً، وَكَانَ فِيْهِ عدلٌ وَشجَاعَةٌ وَنُبْلٌ مَعَ عَسفٍ، وَكونُهُ كَرَّامِيّاً (٢) ، وَلَمَّا أَخذَ طُوْسَ أَخربَ مَشْهَدَ الرِّضَا، وَقَتَلَ مَنْ يَزورهُ، فَلَمَّا تملَّكَ ابنُهُ مَحْمُوْدٌ، رَأَى فِي النَّوْمِ عَلِيّاً ﵁، وَهُوَ يَقُوْلُ: إِلَى كَمْ هَذَا؟ فَبنَى المَشْهَدَ وَرَدَّ أَوقَافَهُ إِلَيْهِ، عَهِدَ بِالمملكَةِ بَعْدَهُ إِلَى ابْنِهِ إِسْمَاعِيْلَ، وَلَمْ يُقدِّمْ مَحْمُوْداً وَهُوَ كَانَ الأَسَنَّ، فَتَحَاربَ الأَخوَانِ، وَانهزمَ إِسْمَاعِيْلُ، فتحصَّنَ بِقَلْعَةِ غَزْنَةَ، ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ نَزَلَ بِالأَمَانِ إِلَى أَخِيْهِ بَعْد أَشْهُرٍ، فَأَمَّنَهُ وَتَمَكَّنَ مَحْمُوْدٌ.

(١) عن الرسالة الموضحة ١٠، ١١ بتصرف. (*) المنتظم: ٧ / ٧٦ - ٧٩، الكامل لابن الأثير: ٨ / ٤٧٩، ٤٨٧، ٥٠٩، ٥١١، ٦٢٩ - ٦٣٧، وفيات الأعيان: ٥ / ١٧٥، ضمن ترجمة ولده محمود بن سبكتكبين: المختصر في أخبار البشر: ٢ / ١١٣، ١١٧، ١٣٣، العبر: ٢ / ٣٣، تاريخ الإسلام: ٤ الورقة: ٦٤ / ب. دول الإسلام: ١ / ٢٢٥، عيون التواريخ: ١١ الورقة: ٢٣٥، البداية والنهاية: ١١ / ٢٨٢، النجوم الزاهرة: ٤ / ١٠٨، شذرات الذهب: ٣ / ٤٨. (٢) الكرامية: هم أصحاب أبي عبد الله محمد بن كرام، أصله من سجستان، جاور بمكة خمس سنين ثم ورد نيسابور، أحدث مذهبا تبعه عليه عالم لا يحصون بنيسابور وهراة ونواحيها، ومذهبه هذا مشهور في التشبيه والتجسيم، انظر " الملل والنحل ": ١ / ١٠٨، و" الفرق بين الفرق " ص ١٣١.